Graduate Courses
The Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation offers Master of Science (thesis and nonthesis option) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in wildlife ecology and conservation.
Program emphases include wildlife biology, ecology, and management; landscape ecology and restoration; human dimensions; tropical and international conservation; and conservation education.
Graduate students should have appropriate undergraduate training in the biological, social, and physical sciences including physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Students with inadequate backgrounds may be required to take (without credit at the graduate level) remedial undergraduate courses pertinent to their fields of interest.
Diseases of wildlife, with emphasis on their impact on avian and mammalian populations of North America.
WIS 5323C will not be offered in 2011-12. Instructor has retired. See WIS 6934 Impact of Disease on Wildlife Populations in Spring 2012.
Scientific philosophy and logic of modern ecological approaches, and practical research design as applied to wildlife field ecology.
Offered fall term only.
Major types of plant-animal interactions and the conceptual and empirical approaches used to study them.
Offered even-numbered years.
Application of biological and resource management theory to the problem of the conservation of natural communities.
Offered fall term only.
Examination of geology, hydrology, chemistry, flora, fauna, and ecology of major wetland systems in North America.
Population processes of wildlife resources in subtropical and temperate ecosystems, and policy processes governing management structure; experimental testing of community interaction; applying theory to management.
Offered fall term of odd-numbered years.
Rigorous background in population analysis covering population growth and regulation, species interactions, life-history theory, and population viability analysis.
Offered spring term only.
Theory and applications of life tables, age, and stage-structured matrix population models. Sensitivity analysis and analysis of life table response experiments. Unstructured population models.
Offered spring term of even-numbered years only.
Exploration of applied and quantitative methods to explore links between landscape patterns and processes.
Offered spring term only.
Theory and practice of environmental interpretation for natural resource management. Design, implementation, and evaluation of programming about environment for variety of audiences and settings.
Offered fall term of even-numbered years only.
Natural resource agency administration primer in budgets, personnel management, program development, leadership, and strategic planning.
Offered spring term only.
Strategies and paradigms for management and conservation of mammalian carnivore populations. Social systems, life history variables, conflicts with human, reintroduction and translocation.
Offered spring term of odd-numbered years.
WIS 6575 will not be offered in 2011-12. Instructor has retired.
Interdisciplinary overview of theory and practice of conservation education, communication, and integrated resource management using local and international models.
Offered fall term of odd-numbered years only.
Offered every term.
S/U.
Offered every term.
S/U.
Offered every fall and spring term.
Advanced concepts and practices in wildlife management and conservation. Topics vary.
Offered every term, but topics will vary.
Fall 2012 WIS 6934 courses include:
WIS 6934 Climate Change Ecology
Foundations of Wildlife Ecology: Theory and Applications (WIS6934) will provide students with a background in theoretical and conceptual foundations as a basis for contemporary understanding of wildlife ecology and its application in conservation and management. The course is designed to provide graduate students in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation with a common basis for development of their graduate program and professional and intellectual development.
Offered fall term only. Not offered in 2011.
S/U.
Offered every term.
S/U.
Offered every term.
Wildlife ecology and management in agricultural lands. Effects of agriculture on wildlife. Policies affecting wildlife in agricultural systems. Methods of integrating wildlife and agriculture.
Offered spring term in odd-numbered years.
Research for doctoral students before admission to candidacy. Designed for students with a master's degree in the field of study or for students who have been accepted for a doctoral program. Not appropriate for students who have been admitted to candidacy. S/U.
Offered every term.
S/U.
Offered every term.
This 5-week, experiential program introduces students to New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna and local/national efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity.
Offered Summer B term only.
Course Titles and Credits:
WIS 6905 Biodiversity Conservation and Management (3 credits)
WIS 6905 New Zealand Flora and Fauna (3 credits)
The UF in Belize program offers students an opportunity to earn 3 credits while studying throughout Belize. Students will spend 9 days learning with local faculty and students as well as other local professionals. The majority of each day will be spent in the field examining wildlife and conservation issues in a diversity of landscapes and ecosystems.
Offered spring break week only.
Course Titles and Credits:
WIS 6905 Ecology & Conservation of Wildlife in the Tropics (Belize) (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity for hands-on learning in one of the most diverse and complex ecosystems on the planet. Students will learn field survival skills, wildlife and plant identification, wildlife research techniques, African wildlife ecology, and the linkages between conservation and social issues. Students will engage in many of Southern Africa's most pressing conservation issues, participate in community development projects, and gain an understanding and appreciation for the history and cultures of Southern Africa.
Offered Summer A term only.
Course Titles and Credits:
WIS 6905 Conservation, Culture and Management (3 credits)
WIS 6905 African Savannah Wildlife Ecology (3 credits)
